Perceus of Greece
by SlowOutput
Summary: The world is destabalising and Olympus is in disarray as the greatest empire of man is ready to fall to the might of Rome. Perceus, an immortal was born of two Olympus for one purpose: to survive the Greek Pantheon of Olympus as the Romans take over.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the contents of this story**

Chapter 1: A Knife Edge

Had an observant night dweller, not too drunk on wine nor crippled by disease to see in the torch illuminated gloom, been looking towards the restless sea they would have seen a figure appear from a breaking wave in a wreath of green light. As the water rushed back out to the ocean the silhouette strode up the beach and into the city towards the great temple that lay atop the hill at its centre.

The Parthenon of Athena stood proud against the midnight sky, towering above the uneasily silent polis spread far below. The figure, a man of imposing build bearing a vicious trident in a calloused grip, ascended the marble steps. Passing between the great columns and under the cover of the grand roof, the cold silver of the moonlight was replaced with the orange glow of dancing torches.

Letting out a derisive snort, he was immediately assaulted with the eyesore of a plethora of busts, sculptures and images of the goddess of wisdom as he stepped inside.

"Oh please, are you still sour at the people of Athens for choosing me over you?" A voice came from the shadow of the temple, "Is it really my fault that your gifts to them were so useless?" The voice, that of a regal female laughed.

"This truly is a beautiful monument, for that, I must give credit to the mortals. It is a shame, however, that the populace must be so deluded as to dedicate it to such a deity." He shook his head and peered towards the voice.

"A salt water spring! Really, what were you thinking, Poseidon?" The goddess moved into the brightly lit centre of the temple. The god glared.

"You did not call me here to gloat, Athena, unless your ego has outgrown your intelligence." He remarked.

"You are correct, I did not come here to gloat." She agreed, and the sudden shift in her demeanour was apparent. "There are matters which we have to discuss."

"Go on."

"Civilisation is balancing on a knife edge, and I believe that the shift of Olympus could be disastrous at this time. My city is dying and it's sibling states are withering from their core."

"Is civilisation on the brink or is it just Greece?" Poseidon questioned sharply.

"Is there a difference? Civilisation is Greece! Without Greece the mortals would still be in the dark ages dying to wild animals and squandering in the dirt." She snapped back.

"Western Civilisation has to move on as should the gods."

"My city, it's people. They plead for my help. I hear them, day in day out. The stone of their buildings seems to be crumbling around them." She hissed.

"Then forget them! You needn't listen to their cries." He exclaimed before running a hand through his hair, "The fall has been coming for decades, centauries, even. You knew that. The great city states have been in decline while in the west, power has only been growing."

"Those western scourges have made me nothing! My most important domains, they are stripping from me, how long before I am forgotten? No, I must survive as must my true worshipers." She said firmly.

"Whatever you are planning, it won't work. The council have spoken whether you like the decision or not. Olympus is moving to Rome and Greece will fall, with or without your interference."

"You understand nothing, sea god." The goddess all but sneered. "I know that Greece must fall. The Macedonian puppets of Rome will soon fold and the Archaean League does not have the strength to withstand an Olympian-backed Roman invasion."

The god raised a clenched fist, "Enough with the condescension, I will hear what you have say, but do not try my patience." His voice boomed, the goddess blinking in surprise. Dropping the hand, the god of oceans continued, calmly, "What is your plan? I expect that you have one."

The goddess of wisdom was unsure for a moment, an expression that seemed entirely out of place to the god opposite, but she nodded and began to speak.

"Before I begin I must have your word that you will not speak of this to anyone, including your brother, whether or not you decide to help me." The god looked sceptical but none the less gave his word.

Athena let out breath she did not know she was holding, but wasted no time, "What you must understand here is my goal is not necessarily to prevent the fall of Greece. What I want is for the Greeks to survive."

"You are going to have to explain this to me." Poseidon confessed.

"Right now we have two aspects. Our Greek aspect, and the aspect our Roman worshipers give us. I fear that if Greece succumbs to their western invaders without any assistance from their deities then our Greek forms will be lost forever. I do not plan on being condemned to being a borderline minor goddess if I can help it."

"So what do you intend to do to allow the Greeks' belief in us to last?" The god inquired.

She began pacing side to side in front of the other immortal, "We give them hope. We guide them just enough so that they won't forsake us. Our actions will have to be subtle and small for Zeus covets the greater degree of attention he gets from the Romans as Jupiter and will think we seek to overthrow his power. Our Roman forms will be dominant, but I believe that this won't be the case forever." The other Olympian did not reply for a minute.

"Before I hear your solution, I will warn you of one thing. If our Greek aspects continue to appear, albeit infrequently, there will continue to be Greek demigods being born in this world. If you have been paying any attention to what is happening in Greece then you will know that our children of these aspects are being hunted down like dogs by their Roman counterparts. I will not condemn my children to slaughter because you want to play a long game, Athens." While not angry, the maiden goddess could see that he was being truthful in his warning; he would not buy in without assurances.

"I cannot make guarantees.." She began slowly, holding up a hand to silence his protests, "I believe that my original plan will prevent their deaths, provided Zeus does not find out."

"Fine, what is your proposal?" He said after nodding.

Athena drew in a breath and straightened herself up, "I propose that we have a child together." Understandably she was met with silence. "Of course, this child would have to be a child of thought which is perfect for this situation. All though unprecedented I have a fairly good idea as to what the child's situation would be." Again silence but the god nevertheless motioned for her to continue, eyes closed, his other hand pinching the bridge of his nose with vigour.

"Due to the nature of it being born from thought it will not be born a god, therefore it will be free of the aspect changes we suffer and will always be Greek. However as there is no mortal involved in the process of the birth of the child I see no way in which it will turn out fully mortal. He will be immortal, but to what degree escapes my predictions, whether immune from true death like us gods and the titans, or simply immune to the ravages of age." Her train of speech petered out as the sea god was still yet to make a sound.

"To convince you, Poseidon, I will need it know of your concerns." She prompted. The sea god opened and closed his mouth a couple times before answering.

"Why a child?" He asked simply, tilting his back to face her.

"When it grows up it will be a champion of the gods, to spread the word that we have not forgotten the people of Greece and that they should not forget us."

"You intend to make it a prophet?" His eyes narrowed.

"No, not a prophet, a beacon of hope. The embodiment of the power of the Greek gods. Living proof through which belief in us will be preserved." She explained.

"This is a huge gamble, make no mistake. The child could insight a civil war. Western civilisation would tear itself apart, which, I shouldn't need to remind you, would be disastrous for everyone, mortal and god alike."

The goddess nodded, holding back a cringe at the thought of the potentially apocalyptic consequences.

"I know of this, I promise you I have looked at this from every angle. I will not mislead you nor conceal the truth; this will not be easy for us or for the child. We will need to do our utmost to guide him, for if he goes astray we may not survive the repercussions."

"However, you still believe this is the only way?" He asked, exasperation clear on his face.

"Yes, I do believe this is the way forward." The god could detect no deceit. "And as for the Greek demigods, I hope that the child would be able to act as a guardian for them, guiding them to safe places and protecting them from monsters and their counterparts."

"You would ask a lot of the child." Poseidon observed. "It will be powerful, I make no mistake, a child of two Olympians, yet not tied to the ancient laws."

"Might even be in for a chance of missing the child of Poseidon stupidity thanks to my influence." She added with a small laugh.

"And maybe it will be your first child without the vice of hubris through its entire life." He retorted, smiling.

"With the job before it, perhaps it will need a little hubris to make it through." She said quietly, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips.

Silence rang through the great temple, Athena's words hanging in the air, a reminder to both of perilous path ahead.

"I confess I came here in mind to convince you to give up whatever scheme you were concocting trying to prevent the movement of Olympus." He admitted slowly, "However, I am inclined to give this some thought."

"This is a lot to think on, I know, but time is not our friend."

"First I need something from you. Swear on your name that this is not a knee-jerk reaction, that you have weighed this matter to the best if your abilities. Swear to me that you have not been blinded by your hate of the Romans... I will not bring a child into this world simply to suffer for your corrupt machinations."

"Weeks I have pondered this, and I remain resolute; this is the best course of action." The God opposite only stared in reply until after moment of hesitation, she swore to what he had said.

He held her gaze for few seconds longer before giving an imperceptible nod.

"Then let us save the Greek Pantheon."

The young boy sat, perfectly still, as the fish brushed against feet. His reflection in the clear water faintly danced and warped with the creatures' every movements. Serene calm lay over him as a blanket would, the gentle waves running and rolling up and down the beach. The tide was crawling in and the large rock he hung his feet off of was now almost submerged.

His hands were the only tell of his erratic and hyperactive tendencies, repeatedly untying and retying a short length of rope into and from elaborate knots. A bronze hunting and fishing knife at his hip, left only to deftly annihilate any knot he found himself unable to disentangle.

The boy knew someone was approaching by the way the school quickly began to drift away from the rocks. Sea green eyes swept round from the matching water to see a greying man approaching him down the beach from a horse and cart that was now left standing alone on the dirt road. The boys face split into a grin and he leapt up, his rope forgotten.

"Uncle!" the boy called before diving into the water and swimming effortlessly towards the sandy shore. Seconds later the boy flung himself into the mans arms laughing, "You're back!"

"That I am, as I promised." He smiled warmly. But the boy suddenly withdrew from the embraced and mustered the most serious face he could.

"You said you would be back two nights back." He folded his arms.

"Ah, I suppose I did, but trust me the road was slower what's with been going on and trade of the markets slower still." The man scratched his head, "Frankly its a miracle I managed to sell all the grain at a fair price."

The boys still didn't look impressed and chose not to reply. The man grinned and continued.

"I must admit things have been going quite nicely ever since I found you, you must be a lucky charm! Well that or the gods took pity on me and didn't want me to have to bare the consequences from you of returning home late and empty handed." The boy stuck out his tongue.

"I'm glad you're back." He smiled, dropping his 'scolding' expression.

"So am I, Perseus." He said, smiling down towards the boy who was already back in the water paddling towards his perch of rock where his omnipresent length of rope lay.

 **It's not much, I know but hey, I felt I had to put this idea into writing and on the site.**


End file.
